On Saturday, a Tesla caught fire after crashing into a traffic signal on North McCarran Boulevard and West 4th Street in Reno.
Anytime firefighters respond to an electric vehicle fire like this, there are specific safety precautions they have to take.
First off, under the hood of a Tesla for example, firefighters must be able to identify and locate a first responder loop. This is how they prevent themselves from being electrocuted.
“In almost every model we need to know where the first responder loop is so that we can cut it and they're different in every car,” says Chief Charlie Moore with the Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District. “If we cut that, it de-energizes the battery from all other components of the car." Moore says because of an increase in electric vehicles on the roads in recent years, Truckee Meadows Fire has had to add new training to keep up with these changes.